Pls read the following article, by Paul A. Buescher, Ziya Gizlice and Kathleen A.
Jones-Vessey:
1. “Discrepancies between Published Data on Racial Classification and
Self-Reported Race: Evidence from the 2002 North Carolina Live Birth
Records” (I uploaded it on another file on studybay)
After you have read the article…
1. Access the website of the West Virginia Department of Health & Human
Resources, Bureau for Public Health.
Specifically, access the state health department’s report titled ” West Virginia
Drug Overdose Deaths: Historical Overview 2001-2015 and look at tables 4
through 7 on page 23 of the report: “ Total overdose deaths in 2012 through 2015
by race/ethnicity of the decedent. (Links to an external site.)Links to an external
site. ” Notice in this report how West Virginia has classified people by race and
ethnicity.
https://www26.state.nj.us/doh-shad/indicator/view/ImmFlu.Community.html
2. Access the website of the California Department of Public Health.
Specifically, access the state health department’s report Gonorrhea Tables
California, 2016 . Open the report and scroll down to the table on page 4 (titled
” Gonorrhea, Cases and Incidence Rates by Gender, Race/Ethnicity, and Age
Group, California, 2016 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. “).
Notice in this report how California has classified people by race and ethnicity.
https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/CDPH%20Document%20Library/ST
D-Data-Gonorrhea-Tables.pdf
3. Access the website of the New Jersey Department of Health.
Specifically, access the state health department’s ” Health Indicator Report of
Immunization – Influenza, Adults (Links to an external site.)Links to an external
site. ” Notice in this report how New Jersey has classified people by race and
ethnicity.
http://dhhr.wv.gov/oeps/disease/ob/documents/opioid/wv-drug-overdoses-2001_2
015.pdf
After viewing all these materials,
HLTH 425: Race and Data Questions. Please…
· Be sure to answer all 10 questions
· Leave the question (and question number) on the paper, do not cut it when providing
your answer.
· After each question, provide your answer with full, complete sentences – not just a
one-word answer. Use proper punctuation, spelling, and grammar.
· Use your own words whenever possible. If you use the words of the authors (Buescher, et
al.), be sure to place those inside quotation marks, and identify the original page number in
parenthesis, at the end of the sentence where you are putting the quote.
· Be sure to format headers on ALL pages, and follow directions for formatting written
assignments (see the syllabus for the checklist to be sure you formatted correctly).
· You can cut this bulleted list of instructions or leave it in when you upload your
completed paper, either is ok.
● The length of the questions and answer should be 5 and up pages, answers must be
well detailed.
1. a) What is the NCHS (what do the letters stand for, and what level of government operates
it – local, state, or federal)?
b) How many fixed racial categories are recognized by the NCHS in its data collection and
reporting system for births?
c) In contrast, how many different text versions of race did North Carolina mothers write-in
when asked to identify their own race?
2. What determines the racial classification of a baby born in North Carolina? In other words, if a
baby is listed as “American Indian” on a state health department electronic birth record, how did
that term “American Indian” arrive in that birth record since the baby cannot tell us how it
self-identifies?
3. What is the BRFSS, and how is data collected for this? And, when data is collected, how do
the racial categories in the BRFSS compare with the racial categories that the NCHS uses for
converting text entries on birth and death certificates?
4. What determines the racial classification of a person listed in the North Carolina Central
Cancer Registry? In other words, if a person is listed as “American Indian” in that cancer
registry, WHO decided that “American Indian” was the correct identity, and HOW was this
determined?
5. According to NCHS coding specifications, if a woman lists her race on a birth certificate as
“Hispanic,” when the state health department converts the information into an electronic record
for reporting to the NCHS, how should the race be reported as?
6. In North Carolina, what are two health behaviors that distinguish women who self-identify as
Hispanic from women who self-identify as white? In other words, when we look at public health
data for North Carolina, we see that Hispanic women have a lower rate of one health behavior
compared to white women, and a higher rate of another health behavior compared to white
women. Identify the two health behaviors.
7. How is our understanding of health disparities affected by the situation described in this
research article? Do NOT quote directly from the article, and do NOT quote the specific data in
Table 2 – instead, just try to explain the effect in your own words, as if you were telling a family
member who is not familiar with public health and statistical reporting of health data.
8. Based on data for reported cases of Gonorrhea in California in 2016:
a) What are the six racial/ethnic categories that the California Department of Public Health uses
for reporting Gonorrhea cases?
b) For each of the six racial/ethnic categories, what is the total number of cases AND total rate of
cases? You can make a list, or a table, that identifies each category and then shows the number
and rate next to the category.
c) Does the racial/ethnic group with the lowest NUMBER of cases of gonorrhea also have the
lowest RATE? Defend your argument with specific evidence from the data table.
9. Based on the data for drug overdose deaths in West Virginia during the years 2012-2015:
a) What racial categories does West Virginia use to report this data?
b) Is there a disparity in the numbers of deaths when you compare the racial categories? Defend
your argument with at least ONE example of the reported numbers, based on evidence in the data
tables.
10. Based on the 2015 data for New Jersey adults age 65 and older who say they got a flu shot
(“Influenza Vaccination”) in the past 12 months, how do black residents compare with white and
Hispanic residents (as a group, are black senior citizens overall doing better, worse, or about the
same as each of the other groups)? Defend your argument with reported percentages, based on
what you see on the bar graph or data table.
